Lawrence
Henry Ayers and his wife Ruth opened the St. Andrews Drive-In on June
1, 1949. It was located off of Highway 17 South near where the Mark
Clark Expressway intersects with Savannah Highway. Mr. Ayers advertised
his three drive-ins as L.H Ayers Theatres and proclaimed them “Charleston’s
Only Home-Owned Drive-Ins.” Their other two drive-ins were the
Summerville Drive-In and 4-Mile Drive-In.

Mr.
Ayers sold the St. Andrews Drive-In to Henry Smith and John H. Pembroke
in 1953. On February 9, 1953, it reopened as Henry’s Drive-In.
A week later, advertisements referred to it as Henry’s St. Andrews
Drive-In. In November, 1954, the drive-in closed. Three years later
the land was purchased by St. John’s Episcopal Church, which built
a school on the site. Coastal Community Church bought the property in
2004.

Magnolia
Drive-In
(April 6, 1950 – October 30, 1977)
1500 US 17 South (Savannah Highway) See map at bottom of this page.

News
and Courier - April 5, 1950

Consolidated
Theaters built the Magnolia Drive-In in the rapidly growing West Ashley
area. It opened on April 6, 1950. It featured a 65-foot screen tower
and in-car speakers. The management boasted, “Finger-tip control
enables you to adjust our golden-voice RCA sound to your own choosing!”
The Magnolia had paved entrance and exit. Adult admission was forty
cents.

The Magnolia
Drive-In had a parking ramp that held 510 cars with additional seating
for 200 people on their patio. The large neon Magnolia sign that glowed
along Savannah Highway was visible for two miles.

The advertisement at the right offers a FREE JALOPY to a lucky (or
unlucky) patron. The jalopy was given away after the feature film, "Jalopy"
with the Bowery Boys.

Increasing
property values was the major factor in the closing of the Magnolia
Drive-In on October 30, 1977. It’s location is now lost among
the car dealerships that now line the highway.

The
Magnolia Drive-In offered 100 gallons of gasoline for FREE to 6 lucky
winners. In 1954, gasoline cost about 21 cents per gallon. Admission to
the drive-in was 40 cents for adults. Admission for children was free.
The following night, they gave away an old jalopy called "Leapin'
Lena."

The
4-Mile Drive-In was opened by L.H Ayers on Meeting Street Road on April
1, 1950. It had a capacity of 200 cars. The newspaper ad for the Grand
Opening asked, “You don’t have a car? Come anyway! Sit in
our comfortable patio.” The 4-Mile Drive-In offered six-inch speakers,
modern restrooms and a “Restaurant Stand” specializing in
hot dogs.

Someone
told me this was the first movie theater in Charleston to give away
a free TV set. Considering television was one of the reasons for the
eventual decline in movie attendance, giving away a free TV probably
wasn’t a good idea. The 4-Mile Drive-In closed in December 1957.

L.H.
Ayers operated three drive-ins in the Charleston area. Below is the
movie schedule for December 2, 1951.